Caring for Cats, Rug Hooking, Cooking, & Updating Our Home

On Friday, Mark, Pat, and I made him a permanent part of our family, and we are so thankful to all of the people who have helped us along the way.

Lawrence is a man of mystery, but we do know part of his story. A Good Samaritan found him on State Road 39 near Monrovia and thought maybe he’d been hit by a car, so the Good Samaritan brought him to the Morgan County Humane Society (MCHS) in Martinsville. At first, the staff thought maybe he had vision issues because his pupils were dilated. He also crouched and walked on the back of his legs, which led them to believe that maybe he had some neurological deficit. Because the shelter environment isn’t the best for a tiny kitten who has been through some kind of trauma, Morgan County’s number one cat lady (at least in my mind), Alicia Fouty, took Lawrence home with her. After a few days with Alicia and Doug, her husband, fostering him at their home, Lawrence became less fearful and started to get a little more comfortable with people. He was examined by the shelter’s veterinarian, who thought maybe Lawrence was recovering from a concussion and would continue to improve. He still had a strange gait, though.

Mark and I got involved when Alicia shared Lawrence’s story on the Morgan County Community Cats Facebook page. We were instantly smitten with this little brown tabby guy. Because of his suspected neurological issues, Alicia was looking for a home with people who have some experience with cats with special needs. After some discussion, Mark and I decided to offer to take Lawrence to see Dr. Johnny Cross, a neurologist at VCA Advanced Veterinary Care Center. Dr. Cross is wonderful and had worked with our George and Jud in the past, so we knew what to expect with a neurological consult. After Alicia arranged with MCHS for us to take Lawrence for his consultation, we made the appointment and brought him to our house. [Read more →]

One of the hardest decisions to make when working with community cats is to relocate them. Luckily for us, we don’t ever have to make that decision. Our role is to provide homes for displaced cats who have luckily found one of the organizations we work with, such as FACE or the Morgan County Humane Society.

So what are some of the reasons that community cats are relocated? In our personal experience, we’ve rehomed cats for the following reasons:

The caretaker of the cats had to enter hospice care, and the owner of the property where the cats lived wanted the cats moved.

The cats were trapped for sterilization, but it wasn’t safe for them to return to their home because of threats of animal cruelty.

When the cat was trapped for sterilization, the vet found a birth defect, and the cat wasn’t physically able to return to his home.

The cats were previously kept in a rabbit hutch and seized by animal control. They were unsocialized and needed a new outdoor environment to call home.

The cat was pulled from animal control, and either entered the shelter as a stray or owner surrender. The cat either wasn’t thriving or wasn’t getting along with others in the community cat room and needed a change of scenery.

In the knitting and crochet world, we often talked about WIPs, also known as Works In Progress. My life is one giant WIP, with a heap of sub-WIPs. We are currently engaged in a WIP on this blog. We’re rearranging, updating, and relaunching. While we complete our work, please enjoy this picture of our very special kitten, Jud. We’ll share his story in the coming days!